Legend [Blu-ray]

At the start of this film, the voiceover says "In London in the1960s, everybody had a story about the Krays", and that istrue. The Krays are part of London folklore, as much as Jackthe Ripper, or the London Blitz. They are part of our dark gothicpast, and I have known people who knew them. As a LondonerI have read, seen and heard just about everything on The Kraytwins, and this movie just about covers all the important partsof their story. But first, let me tell you, the how, and the whyThe Kray twins took over London, and yes, they were that big.The reasons why the Kray Firm became so big is, ONE: In 1964,Harold Wilson's Labour Government, changed the gambling laws,thus opening betting shops and new casinos, (have you seen PeakyBlinders?) . The Kray firm took over many clubs and casinos, morethan in shown in this movie, and the Mafia did move into Londonwith The Colony Room, who had George Raft as the front manfor it. The Kray Firm were also involved in every aspect of crimein London, from Purple Heart Pills, to "The Long Firm" swindles ...Then on the 30th July 1966, their biggest Gangster rivals, TheRichardsons firm from South London, were arrested, thus givingthe Kray firm free rein over all of London. This would only lastfor less than two years, as they were arrested themselves inMay 1968. Soon after, the Labour government saw the error oftheir ways, and changed the casino laws, and kicked out allthe American Mafia too... But for 4 years, the Kray Twins didrun London.... back to the movie...OK, em, ... Tom Hardy and Tom Hardy, are a great pair of actors.Tom Hardy plays both Twins, that have distinctively differentpersonalities, and you can't see the lines in between the two.Tom Hardy is brilliant at playing the Brothers. The scriptis very good too, with many little touches from their story. Forexample, Reggie and Frances visit Ronnie in his Caravan, andwe hear a Winston Churchill speech. This is never explained orspoken about, but in real life, whenever Ronnie Kray went into about of depression, he would listen to Churchill's speeches on vinylrecords, for hours and hours at a time.This is a great film, I could argue about what they left out, and bitsthat weren't in it, for example, the death of Jack the Hat was much,more brutal in real life, also that when Ronnie shot Cornell in theBlind Beggar, the record "The Sun isn't gonna Shine Anymore, wasplaying on a record player at that moment... Ironic and dramatic atthe same time, but true. To tell the whole story of the Krays on film,would be too long and too unbelievable, but it did happen, and thismovie is the best story so far, about them.If you enjoyed this movie, I would suggest Charlie, starring Luke Goss.Charlie tells the story of Charlie Richardson and the Richardson gang,and it makes a good campaign piece to this film. Don't be put off by LukeGoss, he is very good as Charlie Richardson, and this is a good movie. And...I would say, have another look at the Kemp bros in the 1990 movie The Krays.This movie dealt with The Twins relationship with their mother, and is has it'sinteresting moments.As for Tom Hardy... he is a LEGEND

Brilliant movie well worth the price

Excellent. Tom Hardy at his best.

Great performance by Tom Hardy as both Reggie and Ronny Kray, the Kingpins of Crime in The Swinging Sixties. Like Dominic Cooper in The Devil's Double this is a great dual story, again of bad and good. While Ronnie Kray is the mentally disturbed pyschotic who dreams of being a Chicago Gangster, his sane brother Reggie is charming and affable, a lady's man, the brains behind their criminal endeavours. Ronnie is openly gay while his brother is straight, in fact their relationship was so bizarre there is evidence they had a secret sexual relationship with each other, according to the author John Pearson, as if things couldn't be any stranger. Reggie's wife Frances stepped into this cauldron of weirdness when he wooed her, and later became his beleagured wife. Tragically she killed herself to get away from his pervasive control, even having electric shock treatment earlier in an attempt to forget the horror of her marriage.The Krays famously fought the Richardson gang who controlled parts of North London. These charming individuals were lampooned in a great Monty Python sketch with Graham Chapman as 'Vince Snetterton Lewis', a wonderful laconic performance holding a limp cigarette while casually describing having his pelvis screwed to a cake stand. The Piranha Brothers were lovely fellows. Charlie Richardson was arrested by the police, and this opened up London for control by The Kray Twins. The film marvellously depicts the sordid lifestyles of prominent figures like Lord Boothsby, played by a wonderful John Sessions, and the police's unwillingness to dig too deeply.Of the 2 films I prefer Dominic Cooper's performance as the unhinged debaucher Uday Hussein, Sadam Hussein's son, who revelled in pervesity, murder and drug abuse. Dominic Cooper plays both Uday and his body double brilliantly in a dual-tastic way. It is amazing what actors like this can achieve given a meaty script, and open our eyes to the spectrum of the human condition, from devout saint to corrupted sinner, is there hope for humanity when we possess such an appetite for destruction?